![\"Johnny](\"https:\/\/sandiegodowntownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/johnnyMc-bio-photo-web.jpg\")
<\/a>A major part of the framework was the land now occupied by Balboa Park and the Zoo.\u00a0The Army, Navy and Marine Corps headquartered there at various times.\u00a0It\u00a0was used as training centers, an artillery base, a supply depot and a Naval hospital.<\/p>\n
The San Diego Historical Center and the Veterans Museum and Memorial Center in Balboa Park will feature rare artifacts and photos.<\/p>\n
The Center has erected a 6,000 – square – foot gallery that will unfurl military adjustments in the county. It encompasses political, economic, land use, social and cultural issues over the years.<\/p>\n
Veterans Museum CEO Rod Melendez, RADM, USN, Ret., explained the Park\u2019s remarkable troop transitions and its usefulness.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Marines took up residence in the old (Panama-California Exposition) fairgrounds buildings before MCRD was completed in 1921,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u201cThe Navy used the same locations for an auxiliary hospital during World War II.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost may know about the Marines and Navy,\u00a0but few know that the Army set up camp here, too, During the 1915 fair they sent in the cavalry and a few years later had [tent] camps where the Zoo is now located.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey had battery emplacements for artillery practice.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Veterans Museum, located on Superstition Point, is focusing on military use of the buildings and surroundings that spanned two World Wars.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll also cover the evolution of the Naval Hospital,\u201d Melendez added.<\/p>\n
During World War I, the Navy established a War Dispensary from tents to care for the sick before it became a Naval Hospital in 1919.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Park was closed to civilians during World War II when the Palisades was used for Navy Corpsman training,\u201d Melendez noted. \u201cThe nurses\u2019 quarters occupied almost all of the central area.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Marines\u2019 Fourth Battalion was brought up to headwater in the fair buildings until civic leaders and the military could work out plans for the construction of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u201cThe same architect [Bertram Goodhue]\u00a0who designed the Exposition designed the Spanish style buildings at MCRD.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 1916 Congressman William Kettner, who was also a member of the local Chamber of Commerce, proposed a Naval Training Station in Balboa Park. He gained the support of Franklin D. Roosevelt, then Assistant Secretary of the Navy, to establish the temporary base in 1917.<\/p>\n
Civic-military maneuvers \u2014 In the fall of 1915, San Diegans embraced the military by voting overwhelmingly \u2014 40,188 to 305 \u2014 to transfer 500 acres of tidelands to the Navy.\u00a0On Jan. 15, 1916, Kettner authored a bill to provide $250,000 for the purchase of the land and joined Col. Joseph Pendleton to push for a permanent location.\u00a0Kettner secured $249,000 in federal funds to deepen San Diego’s harbor, another $95,000 for the completion of a coal wharf and fuel oil station on the east side of Point Loma, and $300,000 for a Navy radio station.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere in the Park \u2014<\/b>El Centro de Ciencias Reuben H. Fleet<\/b> is embarking on bringing new learning programs to unexpected places, so if you can’t make it to the museum, the Fleet is expanding across the county. This month and beyond, the Fleet will offer a range of new programs for science learning outside the museum walls, from stargazing to casual Q&A sessions with local scientists at neighborhood bars … mark your calendars because the fourth annual Art in Bloom<\/b>, combining the talents of area artists and floral designers, is scheduled to take place July 18-20, at Centro de Arte Pueblo Espa\u00f1ol<\/b>. El San Diego Floral Association<\/b> is taking part in this presentation.<\/p>\n
\u2014After an award winning, 38-year sports-writing career with the San Diego Union and authoring three books, Johnny McDonald now considers writing a hobby. He enjoys covering aspects of the port district, convention center, Balboa Park, zoo, and stories with a historical bent. You can reach him at johnny23@cox.net<\/a><\/i>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Johnny McDonald | Downtown News The military\u2019s long association in San Diego County is a story that will be told and retold many times through 2015 at 10 service facilities from Coronado to Camp Pendleton.\u00a0The military has been everywhere, even an observation tower atop Mt. Laguna. Reviews will stress the economic impact in the region […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1182,"featured_media":235659,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"Exploring Balboa Park: May 2014","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11547,11600],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-236864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-sdnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1182"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236864"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236864\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/235659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}